Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) came to the defense of his rival, Hillary Clinton, during Tuesday's first Democratic debate over questions about her use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state.

"Let me say something that may not be great politics. But I think the secretary is right," he said, gesturing toward Clinton. "And that is that the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails."

Clinton has faced heavy criticism for conducting official business from a private server kept in her upstate New York home while she was a member of the Obama administration. She and her staff maintain that no classified information was received or sent from her private account.